Having problems with setting up a 650

[BrianTN]

Sorry guys, I searched but couldn't come up with anything. I'd appreciate whatever pointers you guys have before I have to call Dillon tomorrow.

I have a new Dillon 650 with a casefeeder, setup exactly like how it came from the factory. There are 3 problems that I am having right now.

1. The casefeed tube is crooked. Kind of a minor problem I know, but I'm worried that I didn't setup something correctly. As far as I can tell the casefeed mount post and casefeeder itself are on right, but the casefeeder seems to come towards the user too much, putting a little bit of an angle into the casefeed tube. Is this normal? Here is an image:

2. The slide cam doesn't push the case far enough into the shell plate. I adjusted the camming pin to allow the case insert slide to come in towards the press further, but it doesn't work every time. Sometimes the case is into the shell plate enough, sometimes it isn't. Also, it seems like the case insert slide is having to force it into the shell plate, insert of just pushing the case in. I'm not sure if that is normal or not.

3. The next problem I'm having is with the powder measure assembly. The failsafe rod isn't straight if I have the powder bar directly facing away from me. In order to get the failsafe rod straight, I have to rotate the powder measure assembly counter clockwise a little. This isn't a problem is it? Here is a picture, trying to show that the powder measure assembly is turned somewhat:

Any help would be appreciated.

Edited March 8, 2010 by BrianTN

[CocoBolo]

1. Loosen set screw on case feeder and turn it so that the tube is straight or the case will hang up at the bottom. I put an o-ring on the tube at the bottom to hold it up so there is not a gap at the top.

2. When you push down to set the primer the block pushes the case into the shell plate. My 38 super comp has trouble pushing some of the cases in, then I have to reach thru and pull them a bit to get them in the sizing die. I'm still woking on that one.

3. I'll look at my fail safe rod and get back to you.

[kmitchl]

1. Never noticed this but never looked. IMO not an issue unless cases start to catch in the drop tube.

2. Check the shell plate to make sure there is no debris in the shell plate slot that receives the case rim. I found that unless I clear mine periodically spilled powder and tumbling media get trapped there and interfere with inserting cases.

3. Loosen the two socket screws that hold the powder measure to the powder drop die and rotate the powder measure until the failsafe rod is vertical. I've never found it to be an issue when the rod is not vertical.

[craigulator]

The casefeeder mount post may be out of spec, I had this problem and it was kicking the keyed casefeed adapter out of it's index in the casefeed body. Dillon stated that some of the newer tubes were drilled out of spec by 3 degrees and the simplest fix is to drill the casefeed mount post holes out using a 5/16" bit, this allows enough radial movement to get proper alignment. I did this and it fixed my problem, there is no slop once it is affixed to the press properly. Dillon is about one to two weeks out from having new posts available for replacing the out of spec ones. Call Dillon, they are going to help you out. My casefeed tube was leaning way forward of where it goes into the casefeed adapter, so my casefeeder itself was forward about 3/4" of where it should be, after drilling the holes in the mount post I could turn the post aft/counter clockwise somewhat and this allowed the tube and adapter to be plumb with the casefeeder. Mine looked just like your photo shows

on to #3, kmitchl has it right. As long as your powder isn't "popping" when it cycles everything should be golden

Edited March 8, 2010 by craigulator

[CocoBolo]

Cases not going into shell plate. When this happens pull the brass at the priming station and make sure that the old primer isn't being pulled back into the case. This will cause the primer step to bottom out prematurely and the case won't go into the shell plat.

There is a fix for that on the forum here. It just happened to me when I went out to check my fail safe rod it has a slight tilt in it. I loaded a coupe hundred when I walked out to the shop and had this happen 3 times. Sure enough old primer, so just pulled the brass threw it back in the hopper.

[BrianTN]

For the moment I will just drill the casefeeder mount and call Dillon to see if they will send a replacement if this doesn't work out. I also checked the powder measure assembly and have the failsafe rod straight. I guess I was just a little worried that things didn't line up at the start. Is it normal for the failsafe rod to jump around when the handle to the press is pulled down? I was under the impression it would move smoothly.

I still haven't been able to figure out why the cases won't move into the shell plate completely. As far as I can tell there is nothing blocking the way, and I'm cycling the handle the whole way. There doesnt seem to be a problem with the old primers. I've tried moving it slowly and with what I would consider normal speed. Most of the time the case ends up with maybe 1/3 hanging off of the shell plate.

[Kevinj]

For the moment I will just drill the casefeeder mount and call Dillon to see if they will send a replacement if this doesn't work out. I also checked the powder measure assembly and have the failsafe rod straight. I guess I was just a little worried that things didn't line up at the start. Is it normal for the failsafe rod to jump around when the handle to the press is pulled down? I was under the impression it would move smoothly.

I still haven't been able to figure out why the cases won't move into the shell plate completely. As far as I can tell there is nothing blocking the way, and I'm cycling the handle the whole way. There doesnt seem to be a problem with the old primers. I've tried moving it slowly and with what I would consider normal speed. Most of the time the case ends up with maybe 1/3 hanging off of the shell plate.

Run a small fine cut file around the rod slots on the measure and remove any burrs. I also rebent the rod as the offsets were not 90°. So far as the shellplate issue: have you adjusted the cam rod???

[saster]

The casefeeder mount post may be out of spec, I had this problem and it was kicking the keyed casefeed adapter out of it's index in the casefeed body. Dillon stated that some of the newer tubes were drilled out of spec by 3 degrees and the simplest fix is to drill the casefeed mount post holes out using a 5/16" bit, this allows enough radial movement to get proper alignment. I did this and it fixed my problem, there is no slop once it is affixed to the press properly. Dillon is about one to two weeks out from having new posts available for replacing the out of spec ones. Call Dillon, they are going to help you out. My casefeed tube was leaning way forward of where it goes into the casefeed adapter, so my casefeeder itself was forward about 3/4" of where it should be, after drilling the holes in the mount post I could turn the post aft/counter clockwise somewhat and this allowed the tube and adapter to be plumb with the casefeeder. Mine looked just like your photo shows

on to #3, kmitchl has it right. As long as your powder isn't "popping" when it cycles everything should be golden

Hmm..

I mailed Dillon about exactly the same problem, but they acted as they never heard of it?

My tube is also tilted forward. You have to be very careful to properly seat it at the bottom, or cases will get stuck!

/S

Edited March 9, 2010 by saster

[craigulator]

The casefeeder mount post may be out of spec, I had this problem and it was kicking the keyed casefeed adapter out of it's index in the casefeed body. Dillon stated that some of the newer tubes were drilled out of spec by 3 degrees and the simplest fix is to drill the casefeed mount post holes out using a 5/16" bit, this allows enough radial movement to get proper alignment. I did this and it fixed my problem, there is no slop once it is affixed to the press properly. Dillon is about one to two weeks out from having new posts available for replacing the out of spec ones. Call Dillon, they are going to help you out. My casefeed tube was leaning way forward of where it goes into the casefeed adapter, so my casefeeder itself was forward about 3/4" of where it should be, after drilling the holes in the mount post I could turn the post aft/counter clockwise somewhat and this allowed the tube and adapter to be plumb with the casefeeder. Mine looked just like your photo shows

on to #3, kmitchl has it right. As long as your powder isn't "popping" when it cycles everything should be golden

Hmm..

I mailed Dillon about exactly the same problem, but they acted as they never heard of it?

My tube is also tilted forward. You have to be very careful to properly seat it at the bottom, or cases will get stuck!

/S

Saster, call Dillon and ask to speak to Gary about the post, what i wrote was directly from Dillon. Drilling the holes to 5/16" works very well as a fix, just make sure you put the post in a fixture.

[EEH]

I hate to see you having so much trouble,so just send it to me and stop worring about it ,,when I got my first 550b my reloading room was upstairs in my garage,I started to throw it out the window,not that I am hot headded or anything like that,,RELAX LOOK AT THE BOOK OR BETTER THE MOVIE IF YOU HAVE IT,BACK OFF TAKE IT APART AND START OVER ONE STEPT AT A TIME,,GOOD LUCK

[BrianTN]

Run a small fine cut file around the rod slots on the measure and remove any burrs. I also rebent the rod as the offsets were not 90°. So far as the shellplate issue: have you adjusted the cam rod???

I did adjust the cam rod. As the shell plate is turning, the cases seem to get pressed up against it, then kind of snap into position once the shell plate has turned enough, and bounce back just enough so that they will not fit into the sizing die. I haven't had much of a chance to do anything since I made the first post, hopefully tomorrow I can make more progress. I'm not too concerned right now as I don't have the components to load for .45 like I planned to with this press. BTW, does anyone have a nice load for a Glock 36 or 21 for practice? I've been searching for a while and everyone seems to swear on a different load.

[BrianTN]

Hmm..

I mailed Dillon about exactly the same problem, but they acted as they never heard of it?

My tube is also tilted forward. You have to be very careful to properly seat it at the bottom, or cases will get stuck!

/S

I just got off of the phone with Dillon and they are sending me a new casefeed mount. The gentleman I spoke with seemed to have dealt with this problem before.

[lynn jones]

the #2 problem. your shell plate is too high. loosen the set screw on the shaft and crank the shell plate bolt down a little more. this should fix you up.

lynn

[BrianTN]

the #2 problem. your shell plate is too high. loosen the set screw on the shaft and crank the shell plate bolt down a little more. this should fix you up.

lynn

I tightened down the shell plate bolt, but it didn't seem to fix this problem.

It seems no matter where I have the cam pin the case either doesnt go in far enough, or gets forced in and bounces back out enough so that it doesn't fit into the die. There is no obstruction as far as I can see. Could it possibly be how I am pulling on the handle, or a shaky bench? I haven't been able to finish a dedicated reloading bench, so right now the press is mounted to a scrap piece of wood that is clamped onto a table.

[major9]

Things I've tried for problem #2

1) remove and clean the groove in the shellplate. I usually find tumbling media in mine.

2) check the shellplate for burrs, flashing, sharp edges, etc.

3) while the shellplate is out, make sure a factory round slips in and out easily.

4) check the station 1 locator for tumbling media, burrs, etc.

5) check under the locator for tumbling media etc. I've removed the spring from under my locator. I don't know what Dillon's current recommendation is.

6) pull the problem shell and check the rim for burrs which may cause the shell to "snap" into place

[ambidextrousone]

I had a similar problem when loading .32 ACP. My solution was a piece of double-sided sticky tape, the kind that has a thin foam section between the two tapes. I cut it to fit inside the slide, removed the tape backing ON ONE SIDE ONLY, and stuck it in place on the slide as low as possible. This has worked so well that I have left the tape in place for every caliber I reload.

[3gunnah]

Sounds like a timing issue to me. The rod that moves the shell feeder back during the down stroke should be ajusted so that when the handle is at rest the rod is barly touching the angled part of the ramp. When you apply pressure to the handle to seat the primer, the rod should not be touching the ramp. Then the spring pressure will move the feeder in about another 1/8" this keeps the shell in place as you start the down stroke to size the case.

picture #2 handle at rest.

picture #1 handle during primer seating

Picture #4 feeder at rest

Picture #3 feeder during primer seating

I hope this helps with at least that issue.

Edited April 18, 2010 by 3gunnah

[BrianTN]

Thanks for the replies. The only problem that hasn't been solved is with the shell plate. That's largely because I've been out of town for a while and will be for a lot longer. Hopefully when I get back to the Dillon I can apply the latest recommendations and get it worked out.